Less than a week ago he suffered a huge personal tragedy when his fourth child was stillborn.

But last night, Take That star Gary Barlow made the brave decision to honour his commitment to perform in front of a worldwide audience of millions at the Olympics closing ceremony.

Just days after the loss of his baby girl, the X-Factor judge decided he would close the London games alongside the rest of Take That as planned, singing Rule The World.

Brave man: Gary Barlow takes to the stage with Take That at the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony

The performance was planned as part of a
stunning finale, during which a stunning 20-metre wide phoenix appeared
to rise from the dying embers of the Olympic flame and hover above the
stadium and ballerina Darcey Bussell flew down from the roof of the
stadium wearing orange wings.

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Wearing black and gold military-style
outfits, Gary, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald took to the
centre of the stadium without fifth band mate Robbie Williams who is in
the U.S. with his pregnant wife Ayda Field.

Hiding the pain: Gary put on a brave face to perform at the once-in-a-lifetime event

Then there were four: Robbie Williams was absent from the performance as he is with wife Ayda Field who is due to give birth very soon

The foursome were spotted rehearsing earlier on in the day where alongside Gary's determination was
a hint of heartache, and as the star performed one track, he couldn't
hide his downcast facial expression as he looked to the ground.

Dressed casually in an open checked
shirt, burgundy T-shirt and charcoal chinos, Gary did manage to
temporarily raise a smile as he took to the epic stage alongside the
rest of Take That and an entire troupe of ballet dancers.

Military: The four singers were decked out in black and gold outfits

Dwarfed: As Take That performed, the stadium erupted in a string of fireworks

Gary and his wife Dawn - who have
been together for 12 years and raise three children, Daniel, 11, Emily,
nine, and Daisy, three - broke the tragic news of their loss via a
statement earlier this week.

'Dawn and I are devastated to announce that we’ve lost our baby,' their statement began.

'Poppy Barlow was delivered stillborn
on August 4th in London. Our focus now is giving her a beautiful
funeral and loving our three children with all our hearts. We’d ask at
this painful time that our privacy be respected.'

Singing their hearts out: The group looked like they were enjoying their performance

Preparing: Gary Barlow took to the stage for rehearsals for the Olympics closing ceremony alongside his Take That bandmates Jason Orange, Howard Donald and Mark Owen

Professional: Gary displayed a hint of sadness as he ran through dance moves alone

Take
That were just one of a number of bands who took to the stage for last
night's musical spectacular, which rounded off the London 2012 Olympic
Games.

Queen, Jessie
J, Madness, George Michael, One Direction, Pet Shop Boys and Darcey
Bussell,took to the stage during the three-hour ceremony with a
highly-anticipated performance from the Spice Girls met with loud
cheers.

Back to work: Gary smiled through his sadness as he rehearsed alongside a troupe of ballet dancers